Joe Rudolph, who opened the airwaves to San Francisco's disenfranchised when he co-founded the first black-owned, noncommercial radio station west of the Mississippi River, was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Monday.

He was 63.

Although KPOO (89.5 FM) wasn't a broadcasting powerhouse -- it cranked out just 81 watts when it first took to the air -- its eclectic mix of music, local news and leftist leanings proved popular with listeners, who dubbed the station "Poor People's Radio."

It was among the first stations to play salsa, reggae and rap music, and it provided some of the earliest exposure for hip-hop artists such as N.W.A., Too Short and Digital Underground.

"We gave access to those people who didn't have access," said Wade Woods, a longtime friend who met Mr. Rudolph when they were students at San Francisco State University.

Mr. Rudolph's time and cause of death have not been determined, and autopsy results are pending.

Mr. Rudolph was born in St. Louis. He moved to San Francisco in 1965 after a stint in the Army. As a student at San Francisco State, he helped organize a six-month student strike that prompted the university to create the nation's first black studies program.

After graduating, Mr. Rudolph started Fillmore Media in 1973 with several friends. The company made documentary videos and taught people how to use what was then an emerging technology.

At about that time, David Whittacker -- a well-known figure in the Haight- Ashbury scene and a friend of Bob Dylan's -- approached Mr. Rudolph about launching a radio show. Mr. Rudolph pitched the idea to Lorenzo Milan, who owned low-budget, low-power stations in several cities, including San Francisco.

"We were just asking for a couple of hours, but after we made our case, the owner said 'You guys need a whole damn station,' " Woods said.

Milan handed over the keys to KPOO, which he'd founded two years earlier in a cramped garage on Natoma Street. The station had a shoestring budget and relied upon volunteers and hand-me-down equipment. No one really knew what they were doing, Woods said, but that was part of the fun.

"We'd just spin records," he said. "Half the time we'd fall asleep on the air."

Among the station's many noteworthy alumni is Renne Montaigne of National Public Radio.

The station soon added Board of Supervisors meetings and local news to its mix of jazz, blues, salsa, gospel and other music. It moved into more comfortable digs on the Western Addition in the early 1980s. Friends called Mr.

Rudolph a masterful fund-raiser whose tireless dedication to KPOO has kept it broadcasting even when money was tight.